Ryan Seacrest Invested $1 Million in This Startup Because He Hates Touchscreens

Ryan Seacrest thinks smartphones’ ubiquitous touchscreens aren’t good enough for heavy-duty mobile correspondence. And, perhaps now that BlackBerry’s on its way out, he’s determined to make physical keyboards happen. Again.

Seacrest has reportedly co-founded, and invested at least $1 million in, Typo, a startup that creates external keyboard technology for smartphones. Unnamed sources claim that he’s due to invest more than $5 million in the company.

Typo makes plastic keyboards that can be attached to mobile devices for allegedly easier and more comfortable typing. The first version will be compatible with the iPhone 5 and 5S and will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.

“The back story of Seacrest’s interest in this — for many of his friends and colleagues, carrying two phones was a habit: One for typing and correspondence and an iPhone for virtually everything else. One night, Ryan and his friend Laurence Hallier, CEO of Show Media, were out to dinner and both had phones on the table. Two people, four phones!” Typo explained in a press release.

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